Can't afford to do every buck I shoot...be nice but just ain't happening...that said though I'm so picky anymore chances are if it's eating dirt I'm eating a taxi bill.
My test is simple...if I think they would make a good looking shoulder mount then I do it...but I try not to shoot any animals that I don't think would be worth mounting
No set criteria for me. Just like shooting. If I see a buck, and it makes my internal "Awesome meter" go off, then I'm shooting. If, after I I shoot him, the whole experience make me want him shoulder mounted, then I'll do it. If not, it'll make a fun euro.
It's pretty simple for me. You have to actually kill deer to get them mounted... Although I do have 2 mounted, but my wife will not allow them anywhere near the house.
Every deer I have shot up to this year has been a euro mount. I've always said I'd wait to spend the money once I broke the 160" mark. That finally happened this year. Then when I took it to the taxi (who happens to be my F.I.L.) he offers to do my mount for free. Go figure lol but hey I like euros and enjoy doing them myself. I have 6 euros currently each one I try to make the mount/plaque in a way that helps me remember the hunt. Only my first two bucks are not euros as they were both pretty small so I mounted antlers only in other ways. All my euros are between 120" and 150". So for me yes size is a factor.
I won't shoot a buck I don't plan on shelling out $500 to mount it. 150+ and it's game on. That's just me, and where I hunt.
For those that mount literally every buck...do you plan to ever stop? What will you do with 25 deer heads and your $8-10k investment down the road?
I will keep on keeping on until I run out of money or can't hunt anymore. I don't have any desire to hunt the exotics, so there's no need to save money for that. Whitetails is my passion
Post pictures of them on this site.... holding back a robust laughter and sweet tears of victory while posting condescending threads about how real men (me) buck hunt.
Where do you put 25 mounts? Unless I killed just an absolute monster, I doubt I'll ever mount another deer again. I guess I just don't see the point...
I would have mounted that buck of yours.........due to the story, you'll never have another first. I have a bunch of heads mounted, I have a big country house and lots of wall space. Money is of little concern at this point in my life so it all comes down to how much I want to remember the buck. I have antlers all over the place and euro mounts and now camo euro mounts. There's only so many things you can do with a buck and a shoulder mount is by far the nicest. I am mounting both my bucks from this year (no surprise as they are both my biggest to date) but I have my first archery buck from our cabin, a gun buck from an awesome hunt my brother and I still talk about often, a thanksgiving day buck I took with my dads gun...........etc I can tell you EVERY detail about every deer I have ever killed.........some memories are just more special to my heart and those I want to greet me each day when I come home from work.
Right now I have 2 should mounts and a Euro, got another shoulder mount being done now. They only way I will keep getting shoulder mounts is if the size of the deer keeps increasing. My wife shot her first buck this year so that one will be goin on the wall as well. Love the Euros for sure and do it your self for no cost at all.
